In the early 1920s, the West Virginia coalfield town of Matewan was the setting for one of the most dramatic confrontations in its history. The Matewan Crisis is a story of how a small settlement of miners and traders came to fight over the value of coal and the rights to mine it. It is also a tale of how a town's citizens and their elected officials became divided over the issue, resulting in a deadly confrontation between them and armed company enforcers.

In many ways, the Matewan crisis was an idealistic tale of a self-governing town. However, like all towns, Matewan is a place where conflicts arise between its people. These are fought out between those who hold vested interests and those who don't, causing tensions that may be difficult to resolve.

The coal mining industry in Matewan is the heart of the town's economy, and it plays a large role in its social structure. Coal miners and their families live in shacks or tents within the town's mining camps, while their wives and children attempt to grow crops or raise animals for food.

As for trade, the Tug Fork Traders are a group of traders who run caravans and barges to transport goods from Matewan to other towns in West Virginia. The Traders are primarily concerned with the sales of tobacco, which has a high value in Matewan's economy, but they also have an interest in buying and selling other kinds of goods.

Despite the fact that trading is not as profitable for the Tug Fork Traders as it is for the Matewan Mining Company, they are still very important to the town. This is because the Traders are not only able to buy goods cheaper than the mining companies, but they also have the ability to travel further than the miners.

To maintain their position in this market, the Traders rely on an enforcing agency that works to protect their interests. This agency is known as the Law Offices, and it is made up of a mixture of police and detectives.

Although the Law Offices have an ambiguous relationship with the miners, they do work to prevent attacks against the company's interests. The agency's main target is the Tug Fork Traders, but they also deal with other trades that affect the town, such as cattle trades and the Caintuck Indians.

While the Law Offices are a great way to keep Matewan's citizens from fighting each other, the fact that they are not truly law enforcement leads to some complications in their operations. These complications were especially evident during the Matewan Crisis, when the group was inundated with calls from a number of different people.

The Matewan Crisis centered on the conflict between the Stone Mountain Coal Company and the union miners, who were trying to organize in order to improve their living conditions. The resulting labor conflict between the miners and the Stone Mountain Coal Company was very volatile, leading to many evictions of union members and their families from company-owned houses in Matewan.

Deadline is approaching?

Wait no more. Let us write you an essay from scratch

Receive Paper In 3 Hours
Calculate the Price
275 words
First order 15%
Total Price:
$38.07 $38.07
Calculating ellipsis
Hire an expert
This discount is valid only for orders of new customer and with the total more than 25$
This sample could have been used by your fellow student... Get your own unique essay on any topic and submit it by the deadline.

Find Out the Cost of Your Paper

Get Price